English

English at Marleigh Primary Academy aims to engage and develop keen readers from Early Reading and Phonics in EYFS and KS1 to fluent, confident readers in KS2 with the use of a book-based curriculum. With the use of engaging key texts and exciting writing outcomes children are immersed in a variety of texts from different authors and genres. This year we have begun teaching writing, SPaG and reading skills in unison across the school. This is because they are all fundamental to children’s progress in writing. We follow a clear long-term plan with novels and key texts mapped out with specific writing text types for each year group in line with the National Curriculum, in order to teach children the key skills and components necessary to work towards writing a composite, final outcome. We are covering a diverse and rich variety of texts across the academic year to support the multitude of cultural backgrounds in the context of our school.   

We are also beginning to build opportunities for oracy and enriching experiences in our daily English lessons too with our writing week overview. The different stages of our writing week’s planning and implementation covers immersion, analysis of features, planning, drafting and editing. These different strands allow us to immerse children in the texts we read, in its language features and provide exciting chances to develop speaking, listening and reading skills through a variety of different activities, such as drama.   

Our Early Reading provision at Marleigh Primary Academy uses Rising Stars Rocket Phonics which is a story-based systematic synthetic phonics programme used from Nursery up to Year 2. Phonics is taught daily in EYFS and KS1 following the Rising Stars Rocket Phonics scheme in Reception and Year 1 and Rising Stars Rocket Phonics Next Steps in Year 2 and First Steps in Nursery.   

We are also working on fostering a love of reading at Marleigh Primary Academy with the use of welcoming and purposeful reading corners, timetabled library sessions, reading rewards, exciting author visits and engaging working walls and displays in classrooms and around the school.